PHILADELPHIA — It seems as though every time the Flyers and Penguins face off, both teams abandon all semblance of organization. Essentially, it turns to pond hockey – running and gunning up and down the ice like mad men.

"It seems to progress into that pretty quickly," said Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who leads the NHL with 12 points. "I thought last year we did a better job of not allowing that to happen. Obviously you want to have chances and create odd-man rushes and things like that, but not sacrifice our own defensive play as well."

There might be a bit of extra pressure for the Flyers not to fall into that trap – not because they're 1-6-0 on the season, but because new coach Craig Berube is trying to get his players to run a new system efficiently. When the division rivals meet, all discipline seems to go out the window.

"Hopefully on our part there is (discipline)," Berube said.

There's never a shortage of offense when the Flyers and Penguins meet, which might be welcomed by a Flyers team that is the only one in the NHL not to have scored three goals in a game yet this season.

When they met in the playoffs two years ago, the Flyers outscored the Penguins 30-26 in a goal-fest of a six-game series.

"We all remember that series," Crosby said. "It's kind of hard to explain what did happen and why there were so many goals. Both teams have guys that like to create offense. It seems to progress into that sometimes."

One player who would love to get some offense is Flyers captain Claude Giroux. He has only a pair of assists in the first seven games and Berube said he's starting to press too hard.

"I'm playing the way I want to, it's just that bounces are not there right now," said Giroux, who had two goals and three assists in four games against Pittsburgh last season. "During the year, you've got moments in the season where the puck doesn't go in. it's just a matter of time.

"The 25-year-old center said he wouldn't think much of his slump if it came in the middle of the season, but when the team is in desperate need of points in the standings, it sticks out more.

"When it's the start of the season, the panic button goes a little quicker," Giroux said. "I've just got to stay with it."

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The Penguins are well aware of the Flyers' struggles as a team, too. They've noticed they're all alone at the top of the Metropolitan Division with 10 points and only one loss on the year.

"I think you have to prepare even more for a desperate team," Crosby said. "You don't look at their record. You can switch scenarios; they could have won five in a row. At this point, it doesn't matter. You just have to be aware that they're going to be desperate."

With losses piling up faster than moral victories for close games, the Flyers are getting anxious. They're hoping that the Penguins bring out the best in them…or at the very least, bring out the offense in them.

"Tonight it's gonna be a packed house, I'm pretty sure," Giroux said. "Every time we play Pittsburgh it is. Tonight's gonna be a game to bring the fans back on our side and show them that we're a good team and can win games."